Ed Wade continued stocking the Astros shelves with Phils retreads as the recently designated Sergio Escalona was traded to the Astros for 23 year old 2B Albert Cartwright. Cartwright split time between High A and AA last season hitting a combined .294/.355/.472 in 547 AB’s with 10 HR and 55 RBI’s to go along with 31 SB’s. On the substantial down side, Cartwright hit just .229/.289/.271 in his 140 AA AB’s and struck out in 26% of his AA at bats. He additionally committed 29 errors in 119 games at second base last season.
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Escalona Designated for Assignment
In order to make room on the 40 man roster for the re-signed JC Romero, the Phils have designated 26 year old LHP Sergio Escalona for assignment. After showing promise in the 2009 season during which Escalona saw some time with the big club, Escalona struggled in 2010 after his demotion to Reading to begin the season. The Venezuelan native was 4-8 in 50 appearances for the RPhils with 10 saves in his 54.1 innings of work. He walked 22 and struck out 53 in his 54.1 innings, completing the year with a WHIP of 1.25.
Seven More Invites to Major League Spring Training
Seven more players were invited to the Phils major league spring training camp the Phils announced today. In alphabetical order, Pitcher Brian Bass, Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch, C Joel Naughton, INF Robb Quinlan, RHP Michael Schwimer, RHP Mike Stutes, and INF/OF Delwyn Young all received invites.
Delwyn Young is an interesting name to add to the mix as the 28 year old finished third in major league baseball with 16 pinch hits in 2010. During his major league career, Young is a .258 hitter with 17 HR and 81 RBI in parts of five seasons between the Pirates and the Dodgers. He started games at 3B, 2B and in the OF for Pittsburgh last year.
AAA News
Always on top of the IronPigs news, Allentown Morning Call reporter Jeff Schuler was kind enough to pass along the news that relief pitcher Brian Gordon has re-signed with the Phillies organization where he threw in 40 games in both long relief and as a set up man. Gordon was among the most reliable Lehigh Valley relievers over the course of the season with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
According to Schuler, who spoke to a Phillies official, Melvin Dorta, Ozzie Chavez, Ehren Wasserman, Brian Mazone, Ty Taubenheim, and Alex Concepcion all will not be coming back to the organization.
And….41 days until Pitchers and Catchers.
Jesus Sanchez Sign with Brewers
The last remnants of the Bobby Abreu trade is now gone as 23 year old RHP Jesus Sanchez signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Similar to Yohan FLande, Sanchez was a member of the Phils 40 man roster until just recently and was removed to make room for potential acquisitions in the Rule 5 draft last week. After a successful transition from Catcher, Sanchez has thrown very well on the mound going 9-7 with a 2.99 ERA in 23 starts for High A Clearwater last year. This followed an impressive debut on the mound in 2009 when Sanchez went 10-6 with a 3.44 ERA in 26 starts in Lakewood. Most impressive last season was a WHIP that stood at just 1.09.
Losing Sanchez hurts a bit more than Flande at this stage in my opinion as it may be still too early to tell what the Phils had or didn’t have in Sanchez. A young pitcher who flourished in the low levels of the minors, with excellent control and what appears to be a rubber arm is what Milwaukee may be getting. While it is difficult to argue with the Phils brass recently, the plethora of organizational middle infielders on the 40 man would be a good area to consider cutting for a guy that may not have reached his mound potential as of yet.
Flande Signs with Braves
LHP Yohan Flande signed a minor league deal with Atlanta yesterday that came with an invite to Spring Training. The 24 year old Dominican native was a member of the Phils 40 man roster until he was recently removed to clear space for the Rule 5 draft. The Phils were hoping to resign Flande who went 10-8 with a 4.38 ERA in 27 starts for AA Reading last year. Flande’s career in the Phils organization stalled in AA after seeing a good deal of success of High A Clearwater. Over two seasons, FLande made 40 starts in AA and went 14-12 with a 4.44 ERA. His WHIP stood at 1.42.
Phils Sign Brian Bass
The Phillies signed pitcher Brian Bass, most recently a Pirate, to a Minor League contract with an invite to Spring Training. Bass a 6’2 RHP was the 6th round pick of the Royals in the 2000 MLB draft and spent most of the 2010 season with Indianapolis (AAA), in the Pittsburgh organization, In 41 games, Bass was 4-4 with a 3.26 ERA in his 69 innings of work. Bass allowed 74 hits, walked 23 and struck out 53 for a WHIP of 1.40. Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that he will enter Spring Training as a starting pitcher. Bass last was a starter for an extended period in the 2007 season. Bass has thrown 101 games at the major league level, including 4 last year for the Pirates accruing an ERA of 12.27.
Brown returns home from Winter Ball
The plan has changed rather abruptly for Phils top prospect Domonic Brown. Brown was supposed to be spending much of the next three weeks getting the at bats he missed out on riding the Phils bench during the seasons final months. However, after a 2-29 start in his 9 games with Escogido, Brown has returned home reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Gelb reported that Phils GM Ruben Amaro stated that Brown was feeling tired and sluggish and as such he was pulled out of the Dominican League. This will obviously lead to additional speculation as to the expected role Brown will be in at the beginning of the 2011 season.
While Brown should certainly contribute in a major way to the 2011 Phillies, the plan as to the manner and timeframe of that contribution could be swaying a bit.
MILB.COM Organizational All Stars
Milb.com published their list of the Phillies Organizational All Stars last evening, with some notable comments by Chuck LaMar, which I have attached after each listing. Check out the full article at http://www.milb.com .
C Sebastian Valle-“He had a good year and improved in all facets of the game…His receiving, his throwing and his ability to see the whole field and his power is unquestioned. He has improved immensely and definitely a Major League prospect for us.” Honorable Mentions” Joel Naughton, Tim Kennelly Continue reading MILB.COM Organizational All Stars
Winter League Update
A Thanksgiving hiatus for those of us here at Phuture Phillies but we are back at it with updates from the WInter Leagues.
Domonic Brown has gotten off to a slow start in the Dominican, hitting .053 in his first 19 AB’s with 2 RBI’s and 6 strikeouts. This is his first consistent game action since July.
Freddy Galvis is still below the Mendoza line in the Venezulan League, at .188/.291/.229 with 48 AB’s under his belt. The 21 year old SS is making contact with just 5 strikeouts in his 54 plate appearances.
Harold Garcia has taken it up a notch and stands at .294/.368/.324 with 3 RBI’s in 21 games in the Venezuelan League.
Cesar Hernandez, newly added to the 40 man roster is hitting .320/.393/.320 in his first 9 games in Venezuela.
Antonio Bastardo continues his early domination in the Dominican, not allowing an earned run or hot in his first 5 appearances, while striking out 6.
Yohan FLande has made 4 starts in the DOminican and is 1-1 with 4.91 ERA in 18.1 innings of work. He has allowed 22 hits, and walked 5 for a high WHIP of 1.47.
Julio Rodriguez has made 6 starts and is 2-1 with an impressive 3.10 ERA in 29 innings. Opponents are hitting .250 against him and he has struck out 18.
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